


Bane of the Doctor - Part 16: The Doctor, Saved

by RodimusDoctor



Series: Bane of the Doctor [17]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen, Multiple Doctors (Doctor Who), Science Fiction, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-28
Updated: 2014-08-28
Packaged: 2018-02-15 02:38:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2212602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RodimusDoctor/pseuds/RodimusDoctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clara Oswald and the 8th, 10th and 11th Doctors work together to escape from Dirge Manson's secret base before it is destroyed by a rip in the space/time vortex. And then, the thing the Doctor hates the most - goodbyes - as Bane of the Doctor comes to a close.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bane of the Doctor - Part 16: The Doctor, Saved

The Vortex that had swallowed Dirge Manson, River Song and Madame Kovarian continued its vacuum-like pull on all the people and objects within the chamber. The 11th Doctor, his right hand clutching the ridges of the Tardis wall, kept a strong grip on Clara Oswald’s leg to prevent her from suffering such a fate.

He pulled, and managed to bring her a tiny bit closer to him, but no more. Clara reached back for him, but she couldn’t even bend at the waist. The Doctor’s fingers, both those holding the Tardis and those gripping Clara’s ankle, screamed in agony at the stress.

He was about to lose her. And when his tenth incarnation flew into the vortex, he might just lose the universe as well.

But then, a strong hand closed around the 11th Doctor’s arm. He turned his head and saw the 8th Doctor standing in the Tardis doorway, holding him firmly. In his free hand he held a rope, one end of which was tied around the main console. He tossed the other end to Clara, who grabbed hold with both hands.

“Grab onto the rope,” the 8th Doctor told his elder self, “and I’ll pull you both in.” He himself wasn’t anchored to anything, and nothing else from the Tardis interior seemed in any hurry to leap into the event horizon.

He must have activated the gyro-environment stabilizers, the 11th Doctor thought. Good lad. But...

“Where did you find this rope?” he couldn’t help asking.

“I’ll explain later!” the 8th Doctor replied.

“Sounds exciting!”

Both Doctors and Clara looked up. The 10th Doctor flailed in the air above them, his left hand clutching the flashing light on the Tardis roof.

“A round of teas and a story about a rope,” he said. “What a perfect way to spend an evening. Someone going to tell me to hold on?”

“Hold. On!” said the two Doctors beneath him.

The 8th Doctor gave a mighty tug, and he and the 11th Doctor fell to the floor of the Tardis. Quickly rising to their feet, they grabbed the rope and started pulling Clara in.

“Doctor! Catch,” Clara tossed the remainder of the rope up to the 10th Doctor, who caught it with his free hand.

“Heave ho!” said the 8th Doctor.

“Geronimo!” added the 11th. Together they pulled Clara into the Tardis, then the three of them helped the 10th Doctor aboard as well. They collapsed in a heap; the 10th and 11th Doctors kicked the doors shut.

They all lay there for a few moments, breathing deeply. There were sighs of relief. A few quiet chuckles. Clara and the 8th Doctor held hands. The 11th Doctor raised an eyebrow.

“I suppose we should take off before that thing rips the Tardis apart,” the 10th Doctor said.

All three Doctors looked at each other. Then they leapt to their feet and ran for the main console.

 

One near-universe-ending crisis later, the Tardis was underway once more. The 8th Doctor stood at the main console, piloting with one hand while his right arm hugged Clara’s shoulders. Clara reciprocated with an arm around his waist, her hand just a little too close to his bottom for the 11th Doctor’s liking.

“What on Earth were those two doing while they were away?” he asked himself.

“I could hazard a few guesses,” the 10th Doctor replied. “Are you blushing?”

“No,” the 11th Doctor looked away.

“Oh yes you are!” the 10th Doctor circled his older self and held him by the shoulders. “Look at you, all beet red at the thought of a little Tardis hanky panky. Ooh,” he let go and pulled a frowny face, “does this mean I’m going to get a lot less fun?”

“Hey! I’m fun,” the older Doctor said. “Clara, tell weepy-boy here what a load of fun I am! Clara?”

She turned her head, winked at him, and slid her hand a little lower down the 8th Doctor’s back.

“You think you’d have remembered this!” the 10th Doctor said, and then he frowned once more. “Then again, I should remember it, too. Why can’t I remember?”

“Don’t,” the 11th Doctor said. “Don’t try.”

“My memory’s been blocked!”

“And with good reason.”

“I’d listen to him, Doctor,” the 8th Doctor turned to address his elders. “Believe me when I say, you’re not ready to deal with those memories. Your elder here,” he indicated the 11th Doctor, “was quite bad at managing them himself.”

“Bad man...” the 10th Doctor’s eyes went wide. “The bad man!”

“Oh no,” said Clara.

“Not the bad man!” the 10th Doctor fell to his knees. “Stop the bad man!”

The 11th Doctor stepped behind him and placed his hands on either side of the 10th Doctor’s head. The younger Doctor moaned and his eyes fluttered, and then he became silent and still.

“I’ve done what I can for him,” the Doctor laid his previous self on the Tardis floor. “Time for us all to get back where we belong. Starting with him.” 

The 11th Doctor walked to the console and programmed in some co-ordinates, and the Tardis leapt into motion.

 

Ten minutes later the Tardis landed. The 11th Doctor dragged his younger self out the doors and onto a beach, and laid him on his back in the sand. Then he re-boarded the Tardis and closed the doors without looking back.

“Will he be all right?” Clara asked, the fingers of her right hand linked with the 8th Doctor’s left.

“I’m still here, aren’t I?” the 11th Doctor replied. “This is where he was poached from. His Tardis is close by, in the middle of a nearby town. Yes, Clara, he’ll be just fine.  
“Now, it’s our turn. Back to the Delirium Archive of the far future. Doctor, would you like to do the honours?”

“Oh. Of course,” the 8th Doctor let go of Clara and turned to the console. Clara watched him with a look the 11th Doctor knew all too well.

“We should tell him,” Clara whispered in the 8th Doctor’s ear, thinking that her Doctor couldn’t hear.

“We will,” the 8th Doctor replied, casting a glance at his older self.

The 11th Doctor held his gaze, then shook his head. The 8th Doctor nodded, and returned his attention to the console.

 

In the still darkness of the centuries-abandoned Delirium Archive, a familiar wheezing groan gave sharp relief to the otherwise musty silence. A blue box appeared in a disused corner, a blue light flashing on its roof. Doors on the side of the box opened, spilling light around the immediate area.

Three visitors stepped out.

“Well, here we are, back where we started,” the 11th Doctor said, looking all around and taking everything in. “How long has it been since you two and River came looking for me? Five minutes? Ten?”

“Doctor,” Clara said, taking the 8th Doctor’s hand once more, “there’s something we have to say...”

“Let’s see now, my Tardis should be over there,” the Doctor pointed with his sonic screwdriver, “and over there is where we found River’s holoprojector under the fez! That anomaly shouldn’t be there any longer, however,” he did a quick sonic scan. “Nope! Gone like all the others when they all collapsed into the event horizon Manson and River made when they combined manipulators. You’re probably wondering how this place can still be here after all that happened. Well, there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation...”

“Doctor!” Clara snapped. “I’m not coming with you. I’m staying with, well... him,” she nodded at the man beside her.

“You can’t, Clara,” the Doctor told her.

“I can and I will!” she replied. “We were away for a long time, and we... got close. Tell him... tell yourself, Doctor!” Clara looked up into the 8th Doctor’s eyes and saw love, kindness... and pain.

“He’s right,” he said.

“Wh... but we...” Clara began.

“I can’t retain the memories,” the 8th Doctor said. “The time-streams are out of sync. When I leave, when he and I,” he pointed at his other self, “are no longer crossing our own time-stream, I’ll forget everything that happened.”

“Well, I’ll remind you!” Clara said.

“I’m so sorry,” the 8th Doctor said sadly.

And the 11th Doctor placed his hands on either side of her head.

And Clara elbowed him in the face.

“No you don’t!” she snapped while the Doctor fell to the floor and clutched his bleeding nose. “You are not taking my memory away like I’m some dramatic tragedy figure for you to be tortured about. And anyway, how dare you? Playing around in my head... I can’t even begin to tell you how big of a violation that is. Don’t you,” she pointed at both Doctors, “EVER try that on me again. Do I make myself clear?”

“Ow,” said the 11th Doctor. He sat on the floor, holding his broken nose that had until recently stopped bleeding. It was free-flowing once more, and this time he had no bowtie to staunch it with.

“I said...” Clara said.

“Yes, yes, never again, I promise,” the 11th Doctor told her.

“And you?” she faced the 8th Doctor.

“Never,” he replied. “Well, except for just now when he tried it, obviously.”

“I didn’t want you to be hurt,” the 11th Doctor rose to his feet.

“No, of course, you want that feeling all to yourself,” Clara shot back. “I can deal with hurt. Betrayal of trust, I’m not so comfortable with.”

“I’m sorry, Clara,” the 11th Doctor said. “I really am.”

“Apology accepted,” Clara smiled, then she reached out quickly and set his nose back in place with a wet crunch. He yelped, and the 8th Doctor winced.

“So this really is goodbye?” Clara asked the 8th Doctor.

“Yes, Clara,” he replied. “I wish it wasn’t so, but it is, and it has to be. I want you to know, though, that I will never forget you...”

“Yes you will,” the 11th Doctor reminded him.

“...in here,” the 8th Doctor finished, tapping his chest in two places.

The 11th Doctor made a face. Clara barely succeeded in keeping a straight one.

“You’ll remember this,” she said, and she pulled him into a passionate snog that lasted nearly a minute.

The 11th Doctor kept his head turned away for the entire time.

“Farewell, Clara Oswald,” the 8th Doctor said when they separated. “Take care of that boy,” he nodded at his older self, “and try and keep him out of fights. Apparently I’m no longer good in them.”

“Boy?” snapped the 11th Doctor.

“I’d like to say that I’m glad my future is in good hands,” the 8th Doctor said as he stepped back through the doorway of his Tardis, “but I’d be lying. Try and do better, Doctor, for both our sakes.”

“Why you long-haired dandy!” the 11th Doctor spat, but his younger incarnation had already closed the doors. A few moments later, the familiar wheezing sound preceded that Doctor’s departure.

“I never liked being him,” the Doctor said half-heartedly. Then he noticed that Clara was still staring at the space where the Tardis had been. “He’s still a part of me, you know,” he placed a hand on her shoulder. “As long as you’re with me, he’ll be with you.”

“It won’t be the same,” Clara said.

“It never is,” the Doctor replied. “But I can tell you what it will be.”

“What?” she asked, wiping her tears while she turned to look at him.

“Fun!” the Doctor said. “Lots and lots of fun. And mortal dread and copious amounts of running. What do you think?” He added, extending a hand toward her.

Clara smiled and took his hand, and they hurried off back to their Tardis. They were almost there when the Doctor stopped abruptly, and stared off into space.

“Doctor?” Clara said.

Was it over? Dirge Manson was very probably dead, but the Doctor didn’t know for certain. Besides, the Master had died in his arms but still managed to return. What made him think Manson wouldn’t?

“Doctor, what is it?” Clara asked, shaking his hand.

What of that possibility of Manson having been the Dream Lord? It was ridiculously silly, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t true. And if he truly was River Song’s twin brother, he’d have the ability to regenerate...

Then there was the brainwashing. Had it failed? Or was there more left in his head, waiting?

He’d gone through one of the worst hells of his life, and it still wasn’t over. He could feel it.

“Doctor?” Clara pressed.

“The bad man hurt me,” he replied.

“He did, yes,” Clara said. “But you beat him, Doctor.”

He turned his head to look at her with frightened little boy eyes. Then he blinked, and he was back to his old self again.

“I did, didn’t I?” the Doctor said. “Pretty marvelously, too. Shall we go?” He walked over to the Tardis and snapped his fingers, and the doors swung open. 

“We need to make one quick stop first,” he said, walking to the console while Clara closed the Tardis doors. “Bit of unfinished business. I haven’t taken you to New Earth yet, have I?”

“No, you haven’t,” Clara said. “What’s there?”

“An old friend and a recent enemy,” the Doctor said as he set the co-ordinates for Neo Gotham.

 

The Tardis began to vanish, roof-light flashing and engines wheezing. As it faded from sight, a dark figure dressed in a dark cloak stepped out of the shadows, a sonic screwdriver in his hand.

A malevolent smile spread across his features.

“See you soon, Doctor,” he said, and he pulled on a black skullcap.

He turned, and the shadows swallowed him up again.

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Thus ends my first fanfic epic, Doctor Who: Bane of the Doctor! But is it really, completely, 100% over? There are one or two loose ends that I'd like to tie up, or at least smooth out, addressing such issues as: where was the 10th Doctor snatched from/dropped off; what happens to the Scarecrow in Neo Gotham; and what changes, if any, does this story impose upon the main Doctor Who canon. And of course, what exactly went on between the 8th Doctor and Clara while they were away?
> 
> I've started writing Bane of the Doctor: Coda to address these issues. It could have multiple chapters, or perhaps just a few. What do you, the readers, think? What plot points do you want to see expanded upon? Feedback would be most welcome.
> 
> Don't forget, you can read some of my non-fan fiction here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/367849


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